Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate threefold how hawala banking poses a problem for Swiss banks implementing anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-terrorist financing (ATF) policies as a fulfilment of Switzerland’s UN commitment.

Design/methodology/approach

The first author interviewed compliance officers and suspected criminals on hawala banking mechanisms. The authors formally recorded interviews with compliance officers, but interviews with suspected criminals were not recorded to maximize their potential forthrightness. In total, the authors conducted 70 formal interviews and developed a questionnaire based on this, which was sent to 200 compliance officers. The authors subjected the interviews to qualitative analysis and developed a system of categories that the authors assessed by means of triangulation. By substantiating proposed theoretical challenges with empirical findings, future recommendations for regulatory procedures are based on analytical evidence.

Findings

This study finds that hawala presents significant challenges for AML and ATF policies. Whilst it is possible to mediate the first two challenges laid out herein, it is the third hurdle that proves insurmountable. Ultimately, tolerating hawala banking passively counteracts any active effort made by implementing AML and ATF policies.

Originality/value

Whilst the existing literature sufficiently connects hawala banking to terrorist financing, this study details how existing compliance measures are circumvented and the implications on the perceived commitment of Switzerland against financial crime.

中文翻译：

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哈瓦拉银行对瑞士银行的反洗钱和反恐融资政策带来的挑战

目的

本文的目的是从三个方面说明哈瓦拉银行业如何对瑞士银行实施反洗钱 (AML) 和反恐怖主义融资 (ATF) 政策以履行瑞士的联合国承诺造成问题。

设计/方法/方法

第一作者就哈瓦拉银行机制采访了合规官员和犯罪嫌疑人。作者正式记录了对合规官员的采访，但没有记录对犯罪嫌疑人的采访，以最大限度地提高他们潜在的直率。作者总共进行了 70 次正式访谈，并在此基础上制定了一份问卷，发送给 200 名合规官员。作者对访谈进行了定性分析，并开发了一个类别系统，作者通过三角测量对其进行评估。通过用实证结果证实提出的理论挑战，未来对监管程序的建议基于分析证据。

发现

本研究发现，哈瓦拉对 AML 和 ATF 政策提出了重大挑战。虽然可以调解本文提出的前两个挑战，但事实证明，第三个障碍是不可逾越的。最终，容忍哈瓦拉银行会被动地抵消通过实施 AML 和 ATF 政策所做的任何积极努力。

原创性/价值

虽然现有文献充分将哈瓦拉银行与恐怖主义融资联系起来，但本研究详细说明了如何规避现有合规措施以及对瑞士打击金融犯罪的感知承诺的影响。